When I have the time I plan to apply for jobs that are waaaayyyy out of my league. Just to see what happens. You never know

Sometimes I do it too. I applied for a senior IT management gig at Garmin, and heard nothing. Their world HQ is totally within year-round bike commute distance from me. Never heard back. Similar position at a kinda-far-away hospital? Rejection letter. I'm senior/principal analyst material, but definitely not IT management material yet. Not sure I ever want to be, really. The pay could rock, though.

I've done it the other way, too. The responses I got from some of the lower and similar positions I'd been working were usually along the lines of "we can't afford you."